Everton Move: Is This Jack Grealish’s Last Chance to Overcome His Drinking Problem?

A passion for alcohol and a carefree lifestyle has landed Jack Grealish at Everton.

Manchester City tolerated Jack Grealish for four long years — turning a blind eye to endless parties, searching for a suitable role on the pitch, defending him in the press, and ignoring his turbulent past. How could they not? The star Englishman arrived at the Etihad for a club-record €117 million. In the early 2010s, he was one of the most sought-after talents in the world.

In the battle for his signature, City beat out Arsenal and even outmaneuvered their neighbours Manchester United, who believed Grealish had supported the Red Devils since childhood. His openness and a carefree attitude unusual for English football charmed millions. But at a top club, his best qualities evaporated. In the 2024/25 Premier League season, he recorded just… two goal contributions.

Over time, that openness turned into a lack of focus, and the carefree vibe became pure laziness. Pep Guardiola has resurrected more than one fading star, but with the “new Beckham,” even he was powerless. The only option left was to cut losses and offload the unwanted asset. This coming season, the Englishman will spend on loan at Everton.

Scrolling through British headlines about Grealish, one can’t help but think he was born two or three decades too late. With his warm affection for a bottle of hard liquor, the winger would have fit perfectly into English football of the ’90s and early 2000s. Yet even Wayne Rooney and Joey Barton might have found the drunken antics of Jack a bit extreme.

In March, City casually beat modest Championship side Plymouth in the FA Cup. It wasn’t a thrashing — just a routine 3–1 win with heavy squad rotation. Grealish, who played the full match, contributed nothing, but still found reason to celebrate. His idea of relaxation led him to the North Biddick Social Club — one of the cheapest pubs in town. The swaying star had to be escorted to his car.

It’s one thing when his urge for fun comes with company. Alone, he’s just as likely to be found asleep on the roadside — as happened in 2015, when he dozed off on the asphalt while holidaying in Tenerife.

Grealish could have moved to a top club much earlier — Arsenal had been tracking him since his earliest professional steps. But his drinking issues stood in the way. Things got so bad that some pubs refused him entry because he was already too drunk. After winning the treble, he went on a binge that lasted nearly three days.

Following such episodes, Guardiola even banned Grealish from celebrating the UEFA Super Cup victory in his usual style. But how much faith can you have in the success of such sanctions?

“The past weekend was the best of my life. I’m still trying to get used to it. I was on such a high! I feel good. I trained Wednesday and
Thursday. Obviously, I was fine Saturday and Sunday too,” Grealish
said, describing his post-party state.

The problem is that Jack doesn’t see any problem. He enjoys being compared by the media to Paul Gascoigne and George Best — not realising that the parallels are drawn purely from the off-pitch chaos of his life. The forward truly believes he is a star, despite scoring just 12 goals in four seasons at City — fewer than he managed for Aston Villa in the couple of years before his transfer.

It will be interesting to hear what he says now that Pep has sent him on a sobering exile to Everton. This is, without question, his last chance to regain the trust of both fans and coaching staff. David Moyes is an experienced manager, well-suited to rehabilitation projects. But in a mid-table team, hard work is unavoidable — although it was in just such an environment, as Villa’s talisman, that Grealish first made the world take notice of him.

The £50 million buyout clause is almost comical. At the end of the season, the Englishman could become the most expensive signing in Everton’s history. In that case, City would recoup about 40% of the money spent on Grealish — but not a single ounce of the nerves he’s cost them.

Published by Patrick Jane
14.08.2025